2025 Ones to Watch - Rising Stars: Charles Thomson, CetraRuddy

“Since Charles Thomson joined CetraRuddy, he has led diverse and increasingly complex high-rise multifamily projects in places from New York to Asia. He is a consummate architect and serves as an influential team leader and collaborator. His successes as a project manager and lead architectural designer include the acclaimed, 45-story Rose Hill condominium tower in Manhattan and the two-tower complex and park, Tower 77 in Brooklyn. Working closely with me, Charles brings technical excellence and craft to his work on these projects.” - Eugene Flotteron, Principal, CetraRuddy.

What recent professional milestone or project are you most proud of, and why? Called Tower 77, this Greenpoint project is notable in terms of pure scale — 766 rental apartment across two towers connected by a central podium — and also in how it addresses the vulnerable site along the adjacent Newtown Creek. The resiliency approach extends from urban design elements - a focus on permeability and extensive landscaping - to strategic grade increases across the site and less common tactics like facade and building materials themselves. The ground level, for instance, employs a special facade in granite cladding with mineral fiber insulation, durable and easily reconditioned.

Who has been pivotal in your professional development, and how have they influenced you? John Cetra has been a major influence. His work in high-rise residential and adaptive reuse leadership has created a diverse design practice focused on transforming urban multifamily housing and residential architecture. It’s a great environment for architects like me, full of learning and challenge. John has shown us all how to pursue a rigorous, ongoing study of the city’s context and growth patterns. In this way, John teaches us how building projects, whether luxury condominiums or affordable housing, can reinforce their communities and neighborhoods.